10 Stars Who Were Caught Shoplifting
01/09/2023 15:51
From Britney Spears to Winona Ryder to Lindsay Lohan and some you may have never even heard about
Shoplifting can be a compulsion even for the rich and famous.
Whatever their reasons these celebrities were all caught, accused of or even bragged about taking a five-finger discount.
Take a look at these famous shoplifting tales involving Hollywood stars...
Back in 2011, Lindsay Lohan was going through a difficult time -- which included getting caught shoplifting. She was captured on camera stealing a $2,500 necklace from a jewelry store in Venice Beach. In the days that followed, she was even spotted wearing the stolen piece of jewelry.
Ultimately, Lindsay ended up in court where she was sentenced to 480 hours of community service and 120 days in jail, which she served at home due to jail overcrowding. She was also required to undergo psychological counseling and complete a shoplifters alternative course.
2. Winona Ryder
Winona Ryder was caught shoplifting in 2001, walking out of a store with $5,000 worth of merchandise from Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills. She was arrested and taken to jail but was later released on $20,000 bail. She was charged with felony grand theft and possession of pharmaceutical drugs without a prescription.
The following year, she was sentenced to 480 hours of community service and forced to pay more than $10,000 in fines. While she didn't face any jail time, she was warned that if she stole again, she would be locked up. Following the incident, Winona took a step back from acting.
When Megan Fox was a teenager, she was caught shoplifting from Walmart while she was trying to steal items from Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's cosmetics line. When she was taken to court, she was offered some unique punishments.
"They actually took me into the court, and I had two choices and I took the second choice, which was wrapping [gifts] for Christmas, which was awesome, it wasn't really a punishment. The other one was they were gonna make me wear a sign that said I stole from Walmart and stand outside Walmart for three days," she admitted to Express.
Amy Schumer admits she was a major shoplifter in her younger years. Between the ages of 14 and 21, she estimates she stole over $100,000 worth of merchandise. While she started off small, she says it became "grand larceny" in college.
"I just discovered this department store where you could just take whatever and then return it for cash -- no tags, no receipt, nothing," she told GQ. "You know, thousands of dollars. It was exciting. It was the adrenaline -- the actual act of getting away with it. It wasn't about the money, even though the money was nice. And I didn't feel bad about it. It was this huge corporation. You know, I never stole from people. I never stole from a little store."
Amy officially said goodbye to her shoplifting hobby in her early 20s when she was caught stealing from Bloomingdales and was taken to court.
5. Kim Richards
"Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Kim Richards was caught stealing from Target in 2015. The reality star had taken $600 worth of merchandise from the store and was sent to jail. She was eventually released on $5,000 bail but was later sentenced to 36 months of probation, 300 community service hours, and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. She was also banned from the Target where she was caught.
Amid personal struggles, Amanda Bynes was allegedly caught shoplifting from a Barneys store in New York City. Security reportedly caught Amanda leaving the store wearing a $200 hat she hadn't paid for. After they got Amanda to return the hat, she signed a trespass waiver, agreeing to never return to the store.
"Police responded to a [petty larceny]," an NYPD official told People. "Amanda Bynes placed a hat on her head and left the store. Security brought her back in and called the police, but the security decided to release her…She was gone when the NYPD arrived on the scene."
In 2007, Britney Spears is alleged to have shoplifted from a store in Los Angeles. Britney was reportedly shopping at Hustlers when she attempted to try on a pair of underwear. The singer was then told she wasn't allowed to try on undergarments in the fitting room -- so she allegedly proceeded to try them on in the middle of the store. Britney was then told she had to purchase the underwear, to which she obliged, but on the way out, she allegedly stole a wig off of a mannequin.
Later that year, she was also photographed allegedly stealing a lighter from a gas station store.
When James Franco was a teenager, he started shoplifting -- and then made a business out of it. James says that he and a friend started stealing cologne from a shop and began selling it out of their lockers at school. They eventually got caught and were reported to the police.
"By the time I got to high school I didn't have a 'thing.' So I ended up just getting into a lot of trouble. Like in 8th grade we started stealing cologne. We had like thirty bottles of cologne each in our lockers at school and then we could sell cologne at the dances," he said.
Before Kristin Cavallari became a household name on "Laguna Beach," she allegedly was caught shoplifting. According to actress and shop owner Tawny Kitaen, she says Kristin and her friends stole from her store and were taken to jail. She decided not to press charges, but was surprised to see Kristin on TV just a few weeks later.
"I call the cops and when the girls come back, they've got pants, underwear, tops. They take them to jail, handcuffed, the whole thing. I don't press charges. Cut-fade, two weeks ago, there's a split picture of Jessica on one side and this girl, Kristin from Laguna Beach, on the other and my daughter is like, 'Oh my God. She was the one who stole from your store?' And now she's this big thing," she shared.
Back in 2006, Stephanie Pratt was caught shoplifting from a Neiman Marcus store in Hawaii. "The Hills" star was arrested for swiping over $1,300 worth of merchandise and was taken to jail. Stephanie was released on $5,000 bail and later said that she was under the influence of prescription drugs at the time. She was charged with second-degree theft and sentenced to three years of probation.
